Photo: The Los Angeles Kings’ top farm club in 2014-15, the Manchester Monarchs, raised a championship banner last season, but many of the players from that team have moved cross-country to compete for the Kings’ new AHL team, the Ontario Reign, in 2015-16 (courtesy of Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire)

The American Hockey League vastly changed the hockey universe’s landscape when it moved five teams to California for the start of the 2015-16 season. And the Pacific Division will be ground zero for the experiment, where the California five will share a division with the two Texas-based franchises. Read more»

Photo: Calgary Flames prospect Sam Bennett, along with Sean Monahan, provide the club with a formidable source of strength at center ice (courtesy of Gerry Thomas/NHLI via Getty Images)

Calgary Flames General Manager Brad Treliving has acquired an embarrassment of riches in the course of his tenure, and recently started to see results from past drafts and acquisitions. After a surprising 2014-15 season, the Flames should shed the label of underdogs, as former prospects like Josh Jooris and Sean Monahan graduated along the way to leading the scrappy Flames into the playoffs.

In performances you would expect from the first and second overall picks in the 2015 NHL Draft, Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel led their respective teams to prospect tournament victories. There were also a pair of firsts, as 2016 hopeful Auston Matthews tallied his first goal in Zurich, Switzerland and Joseph Veleno, the first exceptional player from Quebec, scored his first QMJHL goal. Meanwhile, Calgary’s crease is loaded, but Jon Gillies is making sure he’s not forgotten, and another former prospect goaltender has a little fun with what’s left of his offseason in a remake of a cult-classic film. Read more»

Photo: Severstal Cherepovets forward and New York Rangers prospect Pavel Buchnevich produced 13 goals and 30 points in 48 KHL games in 2014-15 (courtesy of Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

The eighth KHL season has begun as this year, the league’s first game – the Opening Cup game between SKA St. Petersburg and CSKA Moscow – took place on August 24th. The reason for the early start is that the 2016 IIHF World Championship will be held in Russia, and therefore the league will need to finish a bit earlier than usual to accommodate the international competition. Read more»